Nioh Is A Sadistic Game, But Not A Complete Dark Souls Clone

Since the first footage of the game was shown at E3 last year, Nioh was quickly pegged as a clone of the critically-acclaimed Dark Souls franchise. Based on the fact that the developers made this title specifically for gamers with masochistic tendencies, it can be difficult to argue that point. However, once players get past the similarities, it quickly becomes apparent that this offering by Team Ninja has more to it than meets the eye.

Destructoid recently had an interview with Fumihiko Yasuda, the director of Nioh, and he explained that the game is meant to be a “masocore” title. “Masocore” is derived from combining the words “masochist” and “hardcore,” which instantly promises a world of pain that more and more gamers are starting to crave. It’s a concept that has been rising in popularity in conjunction with games like the Dark Souls franchise.

According to Yasuda, they made some adjustments to the game after receiving feedback from the demos. He stressed that they simply streamlined the controls and the camera, but the difficulty of the title is still between crazy and insane. If that sounds like a typical Dark Souls game to anyone, Kotaku has a different view on the matter.

According to the publication, Nioh certainly took inspiration from the phenomenal games by From Software, but it also has quite a few differences. For one thing, where the Dark Souls series had a distinctly European setting, Team Ninja’s offering is set in Feudal Japan.

The combat system of Nioh also has more strategic elements thanks to the different stances that the protagonist can take when fighting, which are then influenced by the types of gear that he uses. One wrong choice during combat could spell the end for the player, which raises the stakes in a way that even Dark Souls games have not entirely owned.